Ships And Harbors
by momoxtoshiro
Summary: Ruby is a free spirit, but Weiss is her reason to come home. (Future AU. My 300th fic!)


**Set in Kei and Ami's Future AU, this is a little idea that popped into my head one day. Not much, but enough.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own RWBY. Check funblade and amipiai's tumblrs for Future AU details.**

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Ships And Harbors

It was fights like these that made Ruby's job worthwhile.

The wolves were all around her, viciously wild and irrevocably bloodthirsty, their howls cutting through the thin forest air like knives through leaves, each sound making her ears ring.

It was always terrifying and yet thrilling, but nothing was more satisfying than the mechanical sounds of Crescent Rose being breathed to life by her sturdy hand. Years' worth of training had made it arguably easier for her to cleave a dozen wolf heads than to hold a conversation.

Her moves were effortless, no matter how outnumbered she may have been.

It was always chaos, especially when they charged her in an area where the trees were packed closely together, but Ruby never minded all that much. She welcomed the extra effort it took for her to swing her scythe a few extra times in order to fell some of the trees and make a battlefield she could utilize completely.

She swung Crescent Rose in wide arcs with a smile on her face all the while. Even when they tried to attack her blind side, Ruby blocked them like it was nothing, sending full-grown monsters flying with a simple turn of her wrist.

She felt the thrill of the hunt with every move she made, every expertly-envisioned strike seconds before she made it, every echo of their snarls that rang through her ears. Even when more kept appearing in relentless waves, Ruby never flinched nor slowed herself.

But there was once a time when she might have given in to exhaustion past a certain point, because even a renown huntress such as herself still worked in a human body, after all. But it gave her strength to remember she had something worth fighting for, worth dying for-

-No. Worth _living_ for, she had corrected her sternly with a flick to the forehead.

Weiss was waiting for her, always showing a composed countenance that displayed patience and professionalism. Even if Ruby charged forward and scooped Weiss up into her arms publicly, her old partner would squeak, yes, but she never cracked until she and Ruby were completely alone.

That was when the good-hearted insults and demands of why she had been so late _this_ time began.

That was when the talk of business numbers and meetings disappeared and were exchanged for long-needed contact.

That was when Ruby's eyepatch came off so Weiss could trace her lips over the skin and hold her close, reminding her of just how sorely she was missed...

That was why Ruby loved these kind of fights, the ones that forced her beyond her capable limits to keep going anyway. Only when she was pushed to the brink of collapse did she truly remember why she was still alive and had not fallen to their snapping jaws yet before, and why she never would.

The peril of nearly having her head clipped or right arm scarred anew reminded her more prominently than the one-on-one fights with the beasts. It reminded her of why she needed to get back home again.

If not for Weiss, Ruby probably would not have a place to return to that she could truly feel was her own. Weiss provided for her the kind of love that Yang could not, and Ruby made sure to do everything within her power and then some in order to experience that love one more time.

When the fog was thick and clouding Ruby's mind that thrashed and heaved like an ocean in storm, Weiss was her lighthouse, cutting a clear, homely light through to lead her back to her.

And that was why, even when she was backed into a corner and against all odds, beaten and bloodied, Ruby continued to fight.

Because she was going home again.

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Weiss never enjoyed the prospect of being the one to wait.

In her profession, she only waited for important documents to scan and for important people to arrive at her meetings.

Every person who worked for her knew she hated almost nothing more than to be kept waiting. Her temper was the shortest of fuses and always seemed to be doused in oil, eager to take even the slightest spark as an excuse to explode.

Blake made sure to keep her calm about the paperwork whenever it was late or misplaced by some careless hand, but there was one thing she could never comfort Weiss about.

Ruby's return was always a surprise, and whether it was a pleasant or a frightening one always depended on how badly she was limping. She almost never called Weiss, and the irresponsibility of her actions always caused the white-haired woman a great deal of stress on top of what she already had to deal with on a daily basis.

Weiss fought her own battles, albeit they were smaller, more industrialized ones that more often than not appeared on paper and ink and drew lien out of pockets rather than blood out of veins.

But there were some days when Weiss found it hard to push herself up out of bed in the morning and tackle the toils of the awaiting day.

There were times when she needed to excuse herself from a meeting and hide away in the restroom, splashing cold water onto her face just to try and force herself to keep going.

There were times when Blake insisted she go outside and get out of the building just to remember how to breathe again.

And sometimes, Weiss really needed that. She needed to smell the salt of the nearby ocean from her workplace in Vale, and even from the balcony at her mansion she could still draw breath deep enough to fill her lungs with the unmistakable scent.

And it was times like those that gave her the strength to straighten up and go back inside to continue her work.

She often never realized when she needed air, but made sure to surface for it just before she could drown.

The scent of the ocean always served to remind her of her beloved. Ruby was like a wayward ship, following whichever direction the wind took her in, despite the turbulence. Ever ambitious for new challenges and with an unquenchable curiosity for the limits of her world, Ruby was never easy to tie down.

Weiss had always known since the first day she had met the girl with the semblance of speed that there was no stopping her once she got going. She needed to constantly be moving, exploring, going somewhere to satisfy her boundless wonder.

The years had made an uncertain young woman into a powerful warrior, and Weiss knew she should not worry so much.

But she always did anyway.

Weiss was her harbor, the one who waited patiently only for Ruby's return and nothing else.

Constant and immovable, Weiss was destined to be Ruby's guiding light when all else failed. When she lost her scroll to an unknown forest during a fight and had no way of knowing how to get home, Weiss led her without being fully aware she was doing so. Her aura beckoned Ruby's, and Weiss opened up her heart to her alone.

And if Ruby could be still long enough to listen, she could hear Weiss calling her, see the shine of her light, feel the warmth in her chest...

So Weiss waited, waited for Ruby to need a way back home, waited for the right time to let herself breathe again, waited for the day when her port could close its gates when the only ship she was searching for wandered back inside.

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There were always the days Ruby felt like she might not come back from her battle, and when Weiss felt she might not get up from bed.

There were days Ruby's physical pain caused her to struggle to stand, and days where Weiss's emotional exhaustion caused her to collapse.

There were days when Ruby almost lost sight of that familiar light that would bring her home, and days where Weiss would almost give up hope for what she was waiting for.

But there was always – _always_ – that one day that made none of the ones before it matter anymore.

This was the day Weiss rose from her bed of her own volition to breathe in the scent of the ocean air.

This was the day Ruby raced back through the forest she had devastated despite her injuries to catch the final boat on her journey back.

This was the day Weiss cancelled her meetings of her own free will and used her glyphs that were faster than any vehicle to rush down to the docks.

This was the day Ruby jumped off the boat before it had stopped moving and raced down the planks of wood at full speed, leaving a trail of red petals in her wake.

This was the day Weiss could breathe again when she saw her.

This was the day Ruby could cry freely when she finally held Weiss in her arms at long last.

This was the day that made all the others worth it.

Lips pressed to Ruby's bad eye, to Weiss's scarred one, to noses and to foreheads and to cheeks and finally to lips.

Eyes closed, and they lost themselves in each other, their hearts beating together as one. Ruby kept one hand at the small of Weiss's back, and Weiss's hand trailed down Ruby's arm until their palms met. Their fingers entwined, their lips met again, their hearts reunited.

Whether she was the one leading to home or the one being led home, it no longer mattered when they finally came together.

Because when they were together, they were home.

And it was all worthwhile, because no matter the distance, each knew the other was holding her hand.

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**A/N: Inspired by a certain song. ****I hope you enjoyed!**

**Please review!**


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